Rodgers Flawless, Packers Down Patriots 26-21
Jordy Nelson races for a 45 yard TD late in the first half in Green Bay's big win over New England. (USA Today photo)
The Green Bay Packers behind a dominant performance by Aaron Rodgers defeated the New England Patriots 26-21 on Sunday at Lambeau Field.
Rodgers was unstoppable in the first half as he threw for 287 yards and put a dagger in the Pats hopes with a huge 45 yard touchdown pass to Jordy Nelson at the end of the 2nd quarter to go up 23-14. Rodgers finished 24-38 for 368 yards and 2 TDs as the Packers rolled up 478 yards of offense, 383 in the first half. Davante Adams had a career day with 6 catches for 121 yards.
The loss drops the Patriots to 9-3 and snaps New England’s seven game winning streak. They will however remain for now as the AFC’s #1 seed regardless of the outcome of the Denver – KC game. But more importantly now, the team travels to San Diego for a tough matchup against the Chargers who have won three in a row and beat the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday afternoon.
More observations from Sunday’s game:
Pass rush hurt defense: Facing a quarterback as talented as Rodgers with the weapons at his disposal it is imperative to disrupt his timing and force him into throwing the ball before he’s ready. And for the vast majority of the game, they failed to get little if any pressure. And as a result, those big chunk plays that the defense has been so successful at stopping were happening much too frequently.
It was obvious on two big plays in the fourth quarter. With nine minutes to go, the Packers faced a key third down in the Patriots red-zone. Rodgers had a full 12 seconds to throw the ball that he eventually threw away but was still able to make a field goal.
And just before the two minute warning, Green Bay faced a third down, New England called the perfect defense to stop the Packers crossing route. But with no pressure, Rodgers pumped and held the ball until Randall Cobb got just enough separation to haul in the pass and end any hopes the Patriots had of coming back.
Offensive Line Struggles: A big part of the Patriots game plan was to run the football. Green Bay came in 30th in the league at stopping the run. But the Packers defensive line not only did a good job at stopping the run, they did a great job of pressuring Tom Brady in the pocket and forcing him to get rid of the ball early.
Perhaps part of that was the fact that the team fell behind, but the Packers set the tone early and the Patriots never got into a rhythm in running the ball. We had this matchup as one being in the Pats favor, but Green Bay controlled both sides of the line of scrimmage by a wide margin on Sunday.
Great fortitude shown by team: Watching this game, it seemed like Green Bay totally dominated it from start to finish but yet with six minutes to go, the Patriots were in position to go for a winning score.
Tom Brady led a tough drive and converted a key fourth down at midfield. Then with just under three minutes to go it seemed like Brady’s pass to TE Rob Gronkowski was caught for a touchdown in the end zone. But as Gronk rolled over in completing his movement, the ball popped out and rolled harmlessly away. Brady was sacked on the next play to end any hope of getting six points on the drive.
Julian Edelman played hurt in the second half and Pat Chung and Dont’a Hightower both came back out after being helped off the field. These veterans were showing the way for the younger players where it would have been easy to sit the rest out on a tough afternoon where things weren’t going the team’s way.
Red Zone Defense A Bright Spot: While Sunday wasn’t one of the best days for the Patriots defense especially on third down and in terms of yardage, the defense in the red zone definitely tightened up holding the Packers to 0-4 in red zone chances.
Darrelle Revis made a couple of nice plays in the red zone but the team defense overall really played at a much higher level there holding the Packers to four field goals. But there are no moral victories in the NFL and the team will need a much better effort next Sunday against a tough Chargers team.
Third Down Struggles on Defense Hurt: The one area of the game that Rodgers and the Packers offense really hurt was the play on third down. Green Bay was a very impressive 10-17 on third downs and Rodgers deserves a lion’s share of the credit for this. You can point to pass rush woes, or the play of the quarterback, but this is an area that the team has excelled in.
None was bigger than the huge third down play right before the half. The Patriots had just scored to narrow the lead to 16-14 and would receive the second half kickoff. If they killed the final minute, it seemed the momentum had turned and they were in a great position to take the lead.
With just 23 seconds to go, the Packers faced a third down at the Patriots 45 yard line. Jordy Nelson ran a slant and beat Revis to the inside. The Patriots were in a blitz situation and once Nelson caught the ball there was a whole lot of green ahead and he beat Devin McCourty to the pylon in the end zone. It was a huge turn of events there, but it was a recurring theme that Rodgers and the Packers offense owned third down.
Gronkowski, LaFell Continue High Level of Play: Two bright spots on the offense continue to be the play of TE Rob Gronkowski, and WR Brandon LaFell. Gronkowski hauled in 7 passes for 98 yards and showed great toughness in one play where he caught a Brady pass and refused to go down, dragging Packers defenders down to the two yard line, nearly losing his pants in the process.
LaFell has already set career highs in catches, yards and touchdowns and has become a very trusted member of Brady’s receivers. He made five catches on Sunday including two nice touchdown catches. He brings an element of size and physicality that the Patriots have sorely lacked the past few years.
The Patriots won’t return to Foxboro this week, flying straight to San Diego as they prepare for the Chargers game without all the travel back and forth. We’ll be bringing all the matchups against the Bolts later this week.
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